Real rain

Gusty wind from the North spotted and streaked the windows, making photography difficult.  The rain filled the ant moat to overflowing and gave a surprise shower to the red bellied woodpecker that landed hard on the suet.  A brown thrasher came for barkbutter or mealworms only to find the dish still covered against the rain.  Pelicans and gulls passed over the creek.  

Bird buffet

Morning began with a pileated woodpecker and blue jays.  Three starlings visited but were unsatisfied and didn't stay.  A white throat pecked at the residue in the barkbutter dish.  A Carolina wren got inside the dish.  Meanwhile a goldfinch landed on the suet with a pine warbler.  The goldfinch must have realized its mistake and joined the house finches for seeds.  House finches are bigger.  

The overcast sky developed blue rents.  A pair of buffleheads drifted on the creek.   Lots of little birds use the azalea by the side window as a launchpad for the feeders, but it is very hard to get photos of them.   White breasted and brown headed nuthatches picked out seeds.  I refilled the glass dish with a mix of mealworms and barkbutter balls.  The pine warbler was pleased.  A downy sampled the suet.  The song sparrow found what I dropped (deliberately).  Bluebirds noticed that the dish was refilled.  The female oriole had jelly and a drink.  

Pelicans and gulls were very busy on the creek but the only ducks I saw were the bufflehead pair and another female.  A great blue heron stalked along our shoreline.  By then the sky had cleared but the light was going.  

Waterfowl

A wren dug into the seeds for breakfast.  So did a downy. I saw a goldfinch, but it got away.   A brown headed nuthatch also collected seeds.  K put our a fresh block of suet and the warblers found it.  The clouds lifted as time passed. At high tide, I spotted the orange cat perched on a stump at the water's edge.  

Pelicans fished along our stretch of the creek.  A variety of gulls fished too - herring, ring bill, and black back.  The sight of a great black back gull with a fish attracted a young pelican still in brown plumage.  A great egret flew upstream.  A cormorant photo-bombed a picture of a gull.  I saw another red breasted merganser.  A great blue heron stood watch below the dam. A mallard pair paddled across the water.  A female bufflehead dived.  

Very gray

Overnight rain continued into the morning and gradually became mist.  The temperature slowly dropped all day.  A flurry of birds arrived early but found nothing but seeds.  Even the suet was gone to the consternation of downy, red bellied and pileated woodpeckers.  I saw pelicans and a bufflehead on the creek.  A white breasted nuthatch was content with seeds.  Three juncos also ate seeds.  So did bluebirds.  Sparrows and warblers foraged on the ground.  A mockingbird gave up.  

At lunch, a Carolina wren settled for seeds.    By late afternoon the mist was becoming fog.  A pair of buffleheads were the lone occupants of the creek.  

Very warm

The day was overcast and windy but the temperature rose into the upper 60s.  That often means that birds have other food besides the feeders.  At breakfast, a pileated woodpecker came to finish off the suet.  A blue jay checked on the barkbutter balls. At lunch, a flurry of birds arrived, including a perky chipping sparrow.  A male oriole found the jelly.  I also saw a Carolina wren, bluebirds, warblers, and a mockingbird.  Then something spooked them and I saw no more birds.  

 

Fog

Happy Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras.  At breakfast a light fog grayed the distant pines. It didn't seem to trouble the pelicans flying low over the creek.  Gulls, too, were fishing.  The committee of vultures took to the trees.  The two mourning doves returned.  Downy and red bellied woodpeckers came for the feeders.  So did a wren, a pine and a myrtle warbler, a brown headed nuthatch and starlings.  Blue jays flew past but returned for breakfast.

The sun finally got through at 10am.  Then a junco appeared on the seed feeder.  Where was it during the bird count?  Bluebirds enjoyed the sunshine.  A goldfinch also wanted seeds.  The pelicans kept on fishing, apparently with success judging by the splashdowns.  Cormorants had the same idea.  

 

Gray

We held off on the open dish feeders in case the rain was not finished.  That was just as well since starlings investigated the menu.  The towhee returned for breakfast.  I saw what I think were bufflehead drakes.  Pelicans flew by all day and the dredge apparently observed the holiday.   The red belly ate both seeds and suet but the downy only wanted suet.  Nuthatches came earlier than usual, both kinds.  I also counted a blue jay, a mockingbird, a pair of bluebirds, two kinds of warbler, and a wren before 8:30am.  Later in the morning there were titmice and the song sparrow.  Except for a crow, the lunchtime birds were repeats even though they now had jelly and barkbutter balls.  The temperature only rose a couple of degrees from just under 40 to just over. Plus, the wind was gusty.  I was glad to be inside to finish the GBBC.  I did twelve checklists and counted 37 species, one of which was new.  This year I posted more photos too.  

 

Rainy

Morning was overcast and drizzle began before lunch.  I submitted three more bird counts.  The first was unsatisfactory, I felt, only 15 birds.  The mockingbird, song sparrow, wren, and pine warbler made me happy.  I did another short count mid morning when I picked up bluebirds, the red bellied woodpecker and a pelican.  

After lunch, drizzle turned to rain.  Despite that, and the hawk that swooped past the feeders, I saw more birds and more species.  The towhee came back.  The male oriole put in a brief appearance.  Nuthatches made it out of bed.  But the weather was dreary without making much of a dent in the drought. 

Robins

There was a light frost and a skin of ice on the creek at first, but the sun quickly warmed everything.  A little flock of robins landed to drink from the pool puddle.  I was not surprised they were thirsty because there's been no rain this month and very little in January.  A different flock squabbled in the back yard across the creek.  It looked to me like one vulture had something that the others wanted.  They spread out their wings and danced around like boxers.  I saw one with a black head and several with red heads.  An eagle swooped past and kept going.  

At the feeders we had a red belly, a blue jay, a Carolina wren, a mockingbird, a bluebird, a pair of orioles, a pine and a myrtle warbler.  On the ground, the song sparrow joined the white throats.  A crow promenaded past the door.   The blue jay scolded me for letting the barkbutter balls run low.  

A brown headed nuthatch showed up for lunch.  Most of the breakfast birds returned.  I also saw through the trees an egret and a pelican and a duck I couldn't identify.   That made me decide to do a third bird count from a window with a better view of the creek.  I was rewarded with a bufflehead, a pair of hooded mergansers, and a red breasted merganser.  Pelicans were easier to photograph and I could identify the gulls.  One was a ringed bill and another was a great black backed gull.  At least four cormorants were fishing or drying out.  

I finally succeeded in accessing eBird on the laptop and using Merlin on the phone. 

GBBC start

A sunny, breezy morning, just above freezing, brought plenty of birds to count.  I was glad to see the song sparrow again.  A Carolina wren pecked suet.  The bullying myrtle warbler was ever-present.  Bluebirds came for the barkbutter balls.  A goldfinch dithered before sampling seeds.  Then the red bellied woodpecker took over the seed feeder.  I spotted a downy up in the wild cherry.  She soon flew down to the suet.  A myrtle warbler got into the jelly.  Blue jays raided the barkbutter balls.  The bluebirds moved on to seeds and a mockingbird picked at the barkbutter balls.  .  

I counted birds again at lunch, starting with a pine warbler.  A Cooper's hawk hid in a knot of branches.  I saw it land or I would never have noticed it.  The tangle of branches made getting a picture impossible but the birds knew.  Nuthatches arrived after the alarm faded, first brown headed, then white breasted.  I didn't count it, but I caught a squirrel in flight!  

 

Still pleasant

Today I learned there's a bill in the General Assembly to establish a Virginia Fungi Task Force.  Also proposed is a state mycologist. The same article told me that the split gill fungus has 28,000 sexes.  Politics can be educational.  A mockingbird paid an early visit.  Then  a crow arrived.  A Carolina wren bounced around.  White throats were hungry.  Brown headed nuthatches found seeds they liked.  A goldfinch was more picky.  Bluebirds enjoyed the barkbutter balls as did a myrtle warbler.  The song sparrow was back.  Blue jays too.  

The scarred squirrel got into the mealworms.  A brown thrasher had some as well.  Pine warblers sampled everything.  The female oriole came by for a drink.  The male red belly chose seeds but the female pileated wanted suet.  

 

A committee of vultures

A little rain dotted the windows in the morning.  A flock of seven black and turkey vultures  landed in the back yard, wandered around, and drank from the pool puddle.  I was surprised to see they have white legs.  All this was closely observed by a great blue heron, maybe the one that chases away other herons.  Meanwhile pelicans flew over the creek watching for fish.  

Because of the rain, we left the dishes covered which frustrated the bluebirds.  The wren shared suet with a downy.  A bluebird moved on to the seed feeder so the wren did too.  White throats  and a song sparrow just stayed on the ground.  A myrtle warbler poked around the defunct watering can.  A white breasted nuthatch shared the seed feeder with a myrtle warbler.  Then a titmouse wanted seeds.  A bedraggled pine warbler aimed for suet but a wren was already eating.  The warbler grieved over the covered barkbutter and mealworms.  It finally got some suet.  

The sky cleared at mid day and I uncovered the dish feeders.  A brown thrasher soon showed up.  Bluebirds followed, then white throats.  Across the creek, a heron was on watch.  I ran around on errands after lunch.  I saw people in shirtsleeves, the day was so warm.  

Warm!

An athletic squirrel got into the mealworms.  Others chased through the trees on a day that felt like spring.  The block of ice in the plastic watering can began to melt and leak out the seams.  

 

Towhee

Early morning was still quite cold, though not as low as yesterday, but enough to make birds hungry.  A male towhee foraged under the seed feeder alongside a song sparrow.  At the glass dish, birds were pecking dust so I bundled up and carried out more barkbutter balls.  

Turkey vultures swooped over the creek and perched with a view of it.  I think they must remember the year we had cold-stunned fish floating.  

 

Frigid

We had a very cold, windy night below 20° and windy enough to prevent the creek from icing.  I wonder if I've lost any plants to this abnormally cold couple of weeks.  I read that a high over Greenland was blocking circumpolar winds and pushing them South.  Small birds need a lot of food in this weather.  Bluebirds arrived very early.  The female oriole was close behind.  A turkey vulture perched on the dock piling.  With no feathers on their heads, I wonder if they get frostbite?  I guess it was our day for big black birds - a crow foraged under the seed feeder.  Blue jays (also corvids even if not black) preferred barkbutter balls.  

A mockingbird came next, then a male oriole.  The female demanded another turn at the BBBalls so the male went for jelly.  Well, the female hustled over and evicted him.  She took her sweet time while he waited.  Meanwhile, the aggressive butterbutt kept ambushing other warblers and chasing them all over the yard.  And while it wasted energy, bigger birds ate their fill.  A brown thrasher took over the barkbutter feeder.  A Carolina wren finally showed up at the feeders, followed by a white breasted nuthatch, then a mockingbird, then a white throated sparrow.  

Across the creek, a great blue heron rested on the new bulkhead.  Dirt covered the yard behind the bulkhead and I noticed scrapes on the trees.  A herring gull found something in the water and a mallard drake had to investigate.  A crow watched from the dock.  I got a couple of glimpses of an eagle.  Like the eagle, pelicans were always behind twigs that threw the camera focus off.  A downy pecked at the suet.  I spotted a pine warbler up in the redwood, probably avoiding the mad butterbutt.  The male red belly had some seeds.  I noticed the sweet gum balls were sparse this year which might explain the house finch squabbling at the seed feeder.  Sunshine warmed the day up to 30°.  The orioles and warblers emptied the jelly dish.  K refilled the barkbutter dish several times.  

Temperature dropping

A dusting of snow lay on the concrete, evidence that the ground was frozen.  Wind whipped the trees and passing clouds made the sunlight blink.  The birds went through a lot of food.  A Carolina wren woke up hungry.  Then a titmouse came for seeds.  White throats foraged in the frozen mulch.  Three bluebirds watched from the wild cherry.  

Out on the creek, I saw herring gulls and a hoodie drake.  A handful of buffleheads flew downstream and a pelican flew upstream and landed on the dock.  Of course there were mallards.  A great blue heron strutted by with its catch.  

The red bellied woodpecker joined us for lunch.   Bluebirds and white throats appreciated the barkbutter refill.  A mockingbird lurked in a dogwood, seeming upset at the competition.  Then a male Baltimore oriole brightened the jelly dish.  A blue jay drank from the pool puddle.  That water is the last to freeze.  A white breasted nuthatch ate barkbutter balls.  The female oriole showed up and made the male wait for jelly.  Two orioles and several warblers consume it fast.  A myrtle warbler wasted energy chasing other warblers away from food.  

 

Undertakers' converntion

The red bellied woodpecker was up early for suet.  Out on the creek, herring and ring bill gulls were fishing along with one bufflehead drake.  Pelicans flew over and the resident GBH chased another away.  Bluebirds ate seeds while a white throat complained that the barkbutter dish was empty.  Myrtle warblers got aggressive.  Clouds moved in.  A flock of vultures settled in the trees.  Bluebirds ignored them because I had refilled the dish.  Carolina wrens were pleased too.  A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds. The downy ate suet.  

Baltimore oriole

I got up late.  A lone dove poked around under the seed feeder.  Bluebirds and white throats cleaned the dish feeder.  A mockingbird wasn't happy about that.  A white breasted nuthatch ate seeds.  A starling seemed unimpressed with the choices.  A Carolina wren sat inside the dish.  I spotted a brown thrasher in a dogwood, obscured by twigs.  The red bellied woodpecker worked on the suet.  Myrtle warblers popped up everywhere.  A blue jay wouldn't leave the trees.  

A downy woodpecker also craved suet.  A song sparrow foraged in the last patch of snow.  The white breasted nuthatch enjoyed the refilled barkbutter dish.  A boat towed away another that was sitting at the dock across the creek all week.  Then a male Baltimore oriole showed up.  A brown headed nuthatch joined the crowd.  The Carolina wren was back.  

 

Thaw

Yesterday started sunny and clouded up ad the temperature rose above freezing.  Today the last of the snow melted but there was still thick ice on the creek,  The dredging continued and kept a passage open through the ice. 

 

Woodchuck Day

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources  says, "The woodchuck is present everywhere in Virginia except the eastern shore and the extreme southeastern corner of the state."  That's us, no groundhogs.  If we had them, and if they poked out of their dens today, they would have been blinded by the sunlight bouncing off the snow.  (While the snowfall was light, the cold kept it from melting.)  This is also Candlemas and Imbolc.  

 

Snow cold

Snow fell overnight and was over when I got up.  We got less than an inch after alarmist predictions of up to a foot.  The temperature warning, however, was all too true.  I know that winters when I lived in Ohio and Michigan regularly got this cold and colder, but after four decades in Virginia, I have lost my tolerance.  

Waiting

The National Weather Service was full of warnings:

• Winter Storm Warning until February 1, 07:00 PM EST
• Cold Weather Advisory until February 1, 01:00 AM EST
• Hazardous Weather Outlook
• High Wind Warning in effect from January 31, 07:00 PM EST until February 1, 04:00 PM EST
• Extreme Cold Warning in effect from February 1, 01:00 AM EST until February 1, 10:00 AM EST
• Coastal Flood Warning in effect from February 1, 03:00 AM EST until February 1, 01:00 PM EST
• High Surf Advisory in effect from January 31, 04:00 PM EST until February 2, 04:00 AM EST

 But the snow didn't start falling till nightfall.  

 

 

Brown thrasher

Clouds spread as the day went on and the air got a little warmer.  The dredging continued.  A brown thrasher tackled the suet.  

 

Bird buffet

The ice on the creek was broken where the barge had plowed through but it had refrozen overnight.  A Carolina wren helped itself to bits of barkbutter with beak wide open.  The female Baltimore oriole was up early and headed for the jelly.  Or course, white throats poked around the dead vegetation but also visited the barkbutter dish.  A myrtle warbler paused on the bench.  Another investigated a tabletop.  Then the male pileated woodpecker arrived.  Some of the songbirds were intimidated, but not the brown headed nuthatch.  The red bellied woodpecker ate seeds - he must like something in the mix I bought.  A white breasted nuthatch asserted itself despite the house finches.  A mockingbird wasn't happy to find barkbutter instead of mealworms.  (I emptied the mealworm bag yesterday.)  Bluebirds were happy with either food.  Blue jays were late noticing that there were barkbutter balls.  

A starling came for lunch.  The sun lit up its iridescent feathers, but a bluebird was annoyed at being displaced.  The white breasted nuthatch came back for more seeds.  The oriole ate some barkbutter balls and some suet.  She emptied the jelly.  Brown headed nuthatches were back.  So was a wren.  Pine warblers made a late appearance.  Soon the barkbutter dish was down to dust, so I refilled it.  The creek partly melted during the afternoon, as much from the dredging as the temperature, I think.  Maybe the abundant sunshine helped.  

Still very cold

The creek was completely covered by ice and did not melt.  The sky was mottled with clouds and sunshine was intermittent.  Barkbutter balls lured the blue jays.  Bluebirds were right behind.   Brown headed nuthatches were hungry.  White throats scoured the ground but some wanted barkbutter balls.  Pine and myrtle warblers got into fights.  Titmice seemed to avoid confrontation.  A crow walked around briefly.  A Carolina wren took over the barkbutter dish.   

At lunch, a squirrel tried to break into the seed feeder but Yankee ingenuity won, again.  No sooner had it given up than a brown headed nuthatch landed on the perch.  A mockingbird landed on the barkbutter dish and found it empty.  A pine warbler had to see for himself.  Then a bluebird was disappointed.  Meanwhile, a downy woodpecker got a meal of suet.  A white breasted nuthatch came for seeds, and a barkbutter ball, alas.  A Carolina wren was disappointed too.  The red bellied woodpecker ate seeds even though there was a block of suet not a foot away.  

 

4 and 20 blackbirds

We restocked all the feeders and word got out.  The mockingbird arrived almost immediately after I put mealworms out.  Then a flock of blackbirds landed everywhere.  A lot of them were brown headed cowbirds.  A minute later they spooked and did not return.  

 

Flurries

The temperature hovered just above freezing under a heavy overcast.  Naturally that made the birds hungry but there wasn't much for them except seeds.  The suet was reduced to the size of a thumb joint.  The barkbutter dish held ice water and the jelly dish was empty.  After I was sure it wouldn't rain again, I hurried out with a resupply of barkbutter bits and dust from the bottom of the bag.  As we ate lunch , there was a brief snow flurry.  

Snow and rain

Enough snow fell overnight to leave a visible crust of white but the precipitation had warmed to rain by the time I got up.  There were hungry birds but between them and my camera was rain-streaked glass.  (The rain was coming from the North.)  A pileated visited the suet nubbin but I couldn't see it clearly enough to know if it was male or female.  The red belly also visited.  White throats and possibly juncos ran around the slushy patio where K had spilled some seeds.  

Really cold

The temperature was 22° when I got up and rose all the way to 24° during the day.  The gusty wind must have driven the chill down into the teens.  Occasional sunlight broke through the overcast.  The red belly was up early, soon followed by the oriole.  The oriole was not willing to share with bluebirds.  Eventually she left and I counted four bluebirds.  Warblers and white throats hunted breakfast.  A white breasted nuthatch, then brown headed nuthatches, visited.  A Carolina wren poked that long beak into dead vegetation.  Blue jays noticed the barkbutter balls.  K refilled the glass dish twice.   A white throat tried to get possession of the dish but neither a bluebird nor the oriole was intimidated.  A chickadee walked down the pine trunk.

At lunch, white throats, nuthatches, titmice, wrens, and red belly were all still eating.  A flock of a dozen or more hoodies, mostly drakes, fished on the creek. I had been afraid the dredging might have scared them off for the Winter, but today the equipment was docked.   There may have been more females but they blended in with the water.  A pelican fly-by was blurred by tree branches.  A cormorant popped up out of the cold, gray water with a fish.  A half dozen egrets flew away.  A couple of buffleheads hung out with the hoodies.  Of course there were mallards.  They intercepted the cormorant but it dived.  Bu then the light was very poor.  

The snow began around 10pm.   

Birds stuffing themselves

You would have thought there was a storm coming* the way birds were stuffing their faces, um crops, today.  I was gone all morning but they were hungry at breakfast and still eating at lunch.  Bluebirds could not stay away from the barkbutter dish.  Brown headed nuthatches only wanted seeds.  The Carolina wren would try anything.  The white throats wanted food to fall down to them.  A butterbutt stared at the door as though that would make more food appear. The red bellied woodpecker diminished the block of suet.  A pine warbler was happy with mealworms

 Both wrens came for lunch.  A couple of pine warblers disputed possession of the suet.  The day was mostly cloudy but the sky cleared occasionally so we had some sun.  It lit up a pine warbler.  Then a bluebird frustrated another warbler.  Nuthatches persisted.  A white throat tired of waiting and got up on the dish.  Titmice were willing to eat everything.  The oriole wanted jelly.  Bluebirds stared down a house finch.  Two butterbutts watched for an opportunity to get a meal.  I saw but didn't get a picture of a downy woodpecker and a brown pelican.   Clouds pinked at sunset.  

*Winter Storm Fern, of all silly names! 

 

Graying

The General Assembly will consider a bill to designate the brown-belted bumblebee Bombus griseocollis as the official Virginia native pollinator.  But since it's not pollinating season, I was more cheered by the Carolina wren, faithful to the barkbutter dish.  A red bellied woodpecker marched along a branch.  Morning was sunny with passing clouds.  The day grew warm and afternoon skies were gray as the turbid water in the creek.  A great blue heron chased another away.  A pelican flew toward me but I forgot I'd turned the camera off.  

Squirrel Appreciation Day

I skipped yesterday because I had so little to report.   A titmouse and a cardinal ate barkbutter balls.  A Carolina wren ate suet.  White throats wandered around the patio.  The sky was intensely blue.  

Light frost whitened the dead vegetation and skins of ice floated on the creek.   The sun's angle was finally high enough to catch the seedheads of mountain mint.  I tried to celebrate their day, but the squirrels seemed uninterested.  The day was sunny with a West wind.  

Bluebirds liked the mealworms but were back lighted at lunch.  As usual, white throats messed around in the dry leaves, no longer frosted.  Titmice were hungry for everything but had to compete with house finches and chickadees.  Pine warblers worked on the suet and got thirsty.  Eventually a Carolina wren arrived.  I saw a great blue heron land in a tree behind a lot of crisscrossing branches.  There were pelicans as well.  

Sunny but not warm

The sun was back today after 2/3 of an inch of rain yesterday.  The creek work continued.  I saw a pelican and a great blue heron in flight but not when I could get a picture.  A Carolina wren was glad the barkbutter balls were available again, but they disappeared fast.  A shorter-haired yellow cat watched the birds for a moment.  I had an early meeting, then more meetings.  

Bluebirds came for lunch.  Pine warblers joined them.  Brown headed nuthatches plundered the seeds.  A white throat cleaned up the barkbutter dish and a titmouse hunted crumbs.  A myrtle warbler was sad over the empty dish.  Then a brown headed cowbird pair came to see what was on offer but left disappointed.  And I left for yet another meeting.  

 

Real rain

Today had the first measurable rain this year.  It wasn't heavy but it was continuous.  Intrepid Carolina wrens decided to eat anyway, but were frustrated by the cover keeping the rain out of the barkbutter balls.  Fortunately the suet was insoluble. The other one ate at the seed feeder.  Eventually white throats and a squirrel foraged while a brown headed nuthatch ate seeds and the red bellied woodpecker visited the suet.  Cardinals and chickadees also ate seeds.  A squirrel chased another across the wet and sagging pool cover which responded like a trampoline.  I saw pelicans flying over the creek even though there were workers moving the spoils barge.  The actual dredging has moved upstream of us now.

What died?

A myrtle warbler was an early riser.  Quarreling house finches were right behind.  Then I had to get ready for a presentation.  I glimpsed a great blue heron flying behind me reflected in the computer screen.  At lunch a white throated sparrow ate barkbutter balls.  The work continued on the creek though the tide was very low.  The sky had been blue at breakfast but clouds blanketed it intermittently during the day.  Four vultures circled over the lake in front of twisted clouds.  One was much higher and I thought it might be a black vulture.  

Flighty birds

The dredging continued under bright sunshine. Wind from the Southwest kept the creek full at low tide.  The new, gray metal bulkhead looked colder than the old, stained wood. It may not be as attractive a background for birds.  I had a meeting in the morning and an appointment in the afternoon, so only got to observe at breakfast and lunch.  Blue jays wanted a refill on the barkbutter balls.  Pine warblers ate suet instead.  Brown headed nuthatches and titmice patronized the seed feeder.  The birds seemed easily spooked.  They would all rush away, then drift back, smallest first. 

The female oriole had a good look around at lunchtime.  A Carolina wren sat inside the glass dish.  Pine warblers sampled everything.  Then the red bellied woodpecker took over the suet.  A myrtle warbler got very flustered.  But the nuthatches never stopped.  

Lots of bluebirds

Clouds began to pull apart at breakfast and the day was fairly sunny.  The male red belly couldn't stay away from that suet.  Bluebirds sought out my mix of barkbutter balls and mealworms.  White throats were also tempted.  At least one Carolina wren got a share.  Pelicans flew over the dredging operation but I didn't get a picture.  The spoils barge bore the name Poseidon which I thought was tempting fate.  

Dredge

I missed a day. Tuesday, there were thirsty bluebirds and goldfinches.  A Carolina wren and an orange crowned warbler ate from the glass dish.  A titmouse perched up in the wild cherry.  White throats scoured the ground.  A pine warbler ate suet.   Across the creek, a new bulkhead was being installed.  

Songbirds came in flurries. At breakfast I saw two pine warblers, a white throat, a silly butterbutt, and a Carolina wren.  A mockingbird, bluebirds, and more white throats came for lunch.  A goldfinch watched.  A brown headed nuthatch was thirsty.  The oriole had some jelly.  The dredging work was right in front of us today.  Despite that, I saw a couple of pelicans fly over.  Around 4pm there was light rain.  

Sunny

The temperature got quite cold overnight but then the day warmed up again.  The dredge was hard at work  moving muck and making the creek turbid.   I lost the morning to an appointment though I did make note of trees smothered in ivy.  That's a current project.  I think a hawk was hanging around, disturbing the birds.  A myrtle warbler was thirsty and hungry at breakfast.  Pine warblers followed, then bluebirds and a Carolina wren.  A white breasted nuthatch visited the seed feeder.  White throats got up on the barkbutter dish.  A pelican flew over but trees were in the way.  

 

Mixed weather

The morning was full of dark clouds and light rain.  During a lull, the pileateds visited.  The seed feeder birds ignored the weather but not each other.  The cardinal did not tolerate the house finches.  After the pileateds left, the male red belly showed up - note the red belly.  Carolina wrens took their barkbutter balls to the azalea to eat.  

Finally after 1pm the clouds began to tear apart and the wind picked up.  Meanwhile the temperature had slid from the 50s to the 40s.  I saw bluebirds but didn't get a picture.  The red belly returned.  White throats foraged along the far edge of the pool.  Squirrels foraged and flirted.  Sunset lit up a ridge of clouds in the Northeast.  The clouds expanded as the light dimmed, seeming to boil with red light.  Egrets and cormorants, and maybe other birds flew home.  

 

Still warm

Yesterday tied the record high and today was still warm.  Occasionally sunshine found a path through the overcast, but the concrete never dried from last night's shower.  The dredging was nearly opposite us so water birds stayed away.  A pine warbler got a barkbutter ball.  A bluebird did too.  In between the cardinals, house finches, and chickadees, a brown headed nuthatch got a drink and a seed.  A white throat picked up a barkbutter ball but dropped it when flying away.  The red belled woodpecker returned.  A Carolina wren hopped around the bare beautyberry branches before taking a turn at the barkbutter balls.  I also saw titmice on the glass dish.  

Insects

Temperatures in the 60s brought out a few bugs, so the birds didn't need the feeders.  I saw something buzzing around the feeder post and after dark there was a moth on the window.  White throats foraged all over.  The mockingbird found the dish feeder empty.  Carolina wrens were more flexible - if one food source was gone, another would do.  I refilled the dish and pine warblers appeared.  

 

 

Woodpeckers

The dredge started up so early that the rising sun cast its shadow on the bulkhead where it looked like a long-necked creature feeding.  Again the Carolina wren was the early bird eating mealworms like french fries.  A white throat followed.  Soon the male red bellied woodpecker arrived.  Then the male pileated woodpecker showed up, followed by the female.  Blue jays called their kin and settled for mealworms.  

At lunch a squirrel drank from the ant moat.   A white breasted nuthatch got seeds in spite of the pesky house finches.  Bluebirds heard about the mealworms and came for their share.  The mockingbird must have heard as well.  The female pileated came back for more suet.  Then the red belly returned.  I realized I haven't seen a downy woodpecker for weeks.  

While it didn't get as warm as yesterday, it was mild and the sky grew hazy white.  Luckily, the haze muted the sunshine and reduced glare.  The dredge turned and kicked up a frothy wake.  

Dinodredge

A Carolina wren breakfasted on barkbutter balls.   At lunch, the male red bellied woodpecker worked on the suet.  White throats scurried around.  The dredge made long waves in the creek.  As I watched the scoop arm on the dredge through a screen of trees, it looked like movie depictions of sauropods, if dinosaurs were white.  

Much warmer!

White throats roamed the patio hunting food.   Carolina wrens did too.  The mockingbird wasn't pleased with barkbutter balls.  I guess it wanted mealworms.  But blue jays were happy.  The creek had yellow caution tape strung all over to guide the dredge.  A couple of squirrels flirted but she wasn't quite in the mood yet.  The temperature touched 65°! 

 

Warming

Again, part of the creek had a thin coating of ice but the rest was a perfect mirror in the early sunlight.  The two Carolina wrens were early birds.  Bluebirds were close behind.  White throats resumed kicking mulch and dry leaves.  A cardinal argued with a bluebird over the contents of the dish feeder.  Surprisingly, the bluebird won.  Pine warblers made the rounds of feeders and furniture.  One foraged on the pool cover.  I could see birds in the bushes but only a cardinal was identifiable.  At lunch time several butterbutts showed up.  So did the dredge crew.  As the afternoon went on, the sky grew overcast. 

I learned that iNaturalist has a Bird Feeders group that added some of my photos.  

 

Predators

The sun was back but a skin of ice floated on the creek at breakfast.  As usual, the chill made birds hungry.  A Carolina wren started with suet where it was joined by an orange crowned warbler.  Meanwhile, blue jays cleaned out the barkbutter balls.  The orange cat wandered through but didn't come close.  A goldfinch was tempted by the suet but didn't succumb.  The red belly returned.  A myrtle warbler scurried around the patio and finally got a chance at the empty dish.  The wren was disappointed too and glared at me.  Even a cardinal, a bluebird, and warbler had to see for themselves that it was empty.  

White throats stayed on terra firma.  A great blue heron landed in the pines.  Pretty soon another came along and chased it off.   A goldfinch tried mountain mint seeds.  A second Carolina wren joined the first.  I refilled the dish, this time with mealworms.  At lunch, we saw another Cooper's hawk.  It was sitting on the fence so I had a much better view, but of its back.   

Once the hawk flew, hungry songbirds returned starting with pine warblers.  Bluebirds followed.  Brown headed nuthatches went after sunflower seeds.  The female oriole was attracted by the mealworms.  A myrtle warbler looked into grape jelly.  One yellow rumped warbler had some yellow on its throat like it might be a mix of myrtle and Audubon varieties.  The red belly came back but he also went prospecting up the trunk of a dogwood.  

Bufflehead drakes bobbed up and dived in the creek after the ice was gone.  I think there were three of them.  They kept it up as the sun went down.  

 

Gloomy

The sky was gray all day.  A Carolina wren visited early in the morning.  I only saw pelicans when there were trees in the way but did catch one bufflehead drake.  At lunch birds flocked to the feeders but quickly flew off.  I saw but didn't capture a bluebird.  The pair of goldfinches were slower and seemed interested in the suet.  Pine and orange crowned warblers feasted on barkbutter balls.  The red bellied woodpecker focused on suet and scared a goldfinch.  

Hawk again

The sun shone and the creek was placid.  I was gone till mid morning and when I returned there weren't any birds.  But at lunch we had a show.  K saw a hawk again but still screened by twigs.  I don't know if they forgot it was there, but after a while, songbirds came to the feeders.  The boldest was a Carolina wren that wanted suet.  White throats began to forage.  Eventually the hawk left.  

The red bellied woodpecker returned to the suet.   Some yellow rumped warblers searched for fallen food.  One sampled the goodies in the dish but was soon supplanted by a bluebird.  A pine warbler asserted rank on the warbler pecking order.  Both brown headed and white breasted nuthatches visited.  A goldfinch looked around but settled for water.  

New year, same weather

Today was sunny with typical winter temperatures.  I've now collected 15 years of observations but I've really no idea if they are useful beyond my own interest.  I have certainly learned a lot more about what lives around me.  I've gone through several cameras and maybe gotten better at photography.  Some species seem to have increased and others decreased but that may just be the small sample size.  2025 rainfall was down 6.5 inches from the average of 49 inches, but the average was adjusted higher a few years ago.

A pelican cruised over the creek at breakfast.  I noticed the dish feeder was empty  and filled it with mealworms.  A white throat was not pleased.  Blue jays would have preferred barkbutter balls but ate anyway.  A mockingbird was enthusiastic, as were bluebirds and pine warblers.  Carolina wrens shopped around.  The red belly stayed with the suet.  A couple of goldfinches poked at the birdbath.